If i was my boss ,than i....
or
If i were my boss, than i.......
2007-01-09 04:18:31 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
In your example, you should use "were" because you are making a sentence that will suppose an idea that is not factually based. "If I were my boss..." - supposing you were someone else. "If I were my own boss..." - still supposing, in a sense, you were someone else. But a similar-seeming sentence: "If I was in Panama on my sixteenth birthday,..." could be correct if you were, in fact, in Panama on your sixteenth birthday. What follows that start might take the subjunctive form, but the opening clause would not. It all comes down to: does it refer to a real thing, a fact (then use the form of be that matches the subject) or does it refer to a non-real thing, something imagined (then use the subjunctive, "were" in this case)?
Thomas is correct, in the pointing out that "than" is almost certainly not correct and should be "then"... however, his use of "Its" is incorrect... it should have been "It's" as the usage was a contraction of It is.
I haven't the least idea of WHERE sweet-cookie is coming from, but she is incorrect. If she were... correct, I'd've had to use something else for the word IN CAPS above.
2007-01-09 04:37:06 · answer #1 · answered by roynburton 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both are CORRECT!
' IF I WAS/IF I WERE '
The subjunctive mood, always weak in English, has been dwindling away for centuries until it has almost vanished. According to traditional thought, statements about the conditional future such as “If I were a carpenter . . .” require the subjunctive “were’; but “was” is certainly much more common. Still, if you want to impress those in the know with your usage, use “were.” The same goes for other pronouns: “you,” “she,” “he,” and “it.” In the case of the plural pronouns “we” and “they” the form “was” is definitely nonstandard, of course, because it is a singular form.
2007-01-09 04:53:03 · answer #2 · answered by aquarius 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
#2
2007-01-09 04:22:12 · answer #3 · answered by sleepingliv 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
neither
Its
If I were my own boss, then I
2007-01-09 04:23:35 · answer #4 · answered by thomas 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The second one..."were"
2007-01-09 04:30:17 · answer #5 · answered by Me 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neither one. It should be
If I were my own boss, then I...
2007-01-09 04:25:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If I were my boss,....
because you are NOT your boss....
...but what's with the "than i.." ?
it should be ...then I ...
2007-01-09 04:31:08 · answer #7 · answered by missingora 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the 2nd
Never mind, I stand corrected..
2007-01-09 04:21:56 · answer #8 · answered by ANGEL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I were, because you need the subjunctive tense. (Clue: use were, not was, when using if)
2007-01-09 04:22:26 · answer #9 · answered by Timothy S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
#2, but didn't ask this already?
2007-01-09 04:24:00 · answer #10 · answered by davidinark 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋